Study discovers that primates take care of animals outside their own family

Interactions between primates and animals outside their families have been documented for a long time, from predator-prey relationships to friendly behaviours. While many of these interactions were earlier dismissed, a systematic review of the scientific literature, media reports and surveys has analysed 427 unique cases of inter-species social interactions. This Springer study titled 'Heterospecific social behavior in primates: insights into the evolutionary roots of pet-keeping' shows that these interactions involve at least 88 different primate species and 127 non-primate species, including mammals, birds, and even insects.Such interactions take place in the wild as well as in captivity, and they point to an ancient capacity for sociality that crosses species boundaries. These examples reveal that the roots of human-animal partnerships, such as caring, toleration, and curiosity, are not specific to humans.